PADDY McGuinness looked in great spirits as he was seen for the first time after making a divorce gag amid his comedy return.

The TV presenter and comic returned to live comedy for the first time in eight years on Thursday with his Nearly There show.

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And he took just 63 seconds to get in a dig at Christine, from whom he split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage and three children together.

Looking very happy with himself, the 51-year-old dad-of-three was seen beaming from ear to ear as he arrived at Radio2 in Manchester on Sunday morning after the gag.

Stylish Paddy popped on a green jacket, a white t-shirt and some beige trousers as he clutched his cap in his hand and headed to the studio for his Sunday show in Salford.

Addressing his near-sellout crowd at Blackburn’s King George’s Hall on Thursday night, Bolton-born Paddy said: “It’s all about love and respect tonight.

“Loads of love in this room. I don’t care what race you are, what religion, what your sexuality is.

“I don’t care how you identify. You can identify as a cat, for all I care.

“Put your litter tray in the corner, knock yourself out.

“Tonight, folks, we’re all here as human beings with one common goal — and that’s to help me pay for my divorce. I’ve had the pants down, me, the pants down.”

Amid howls of laughter from the audience, the BBC Radio 2 presenter — who is set to do a charity bike ride for Children In Need next month across Wales, England and Scotland — added: “I’m thinking of getting Children In Need to do a bike ride for me next year, or come round to a bedsit in Bolton filming me.”

The 90-minute show was laden with knee-slapping snipes at other celebs, including Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his baldness, axed ITV star ­Phillip Schofield, disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards  . . . and Prince Andrew.

 A source close to Christine told the Sun on Sunday: “She was devastated yesterday and was horrified to be a laughing stock, she didn’t know Paddy was going to make her the butt of his jokes and felt shocked that he did.

“She has kept a respectful silence throughout their divorce proceedings and their marriage fallout.

“She felt very low about this.

“She is focusing on her family and work projects, which bring her joy, she’s not interested in bad-mouthing anyone.

“She was distraught at the idea that people were laughing at her.”

Earlier this year the Sun on Sunday told how Christine had lined up ‘pitbull’ lawyer Catherine Bedford, of Harbottle & Lewis, to handle her divorce from Paddy – while she remains in their £4million Cheshire home for now.

The legal hotshot helped land a reported £31million payout for Ant McPartlin’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong.

Since the break-up Christine has spent time with 31-year-old footballer Chelcee Grimes, going on girls’ holidays and sharing a kiss at Winter Wonderland in London, and more recently with Birmingham-raised musician Roxxxan.

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Saoirse Ronan silenced her fellow guests on The Graham Norton Show with a brutally honest reminder about violence against women and girls.

Appearing on the BBC chat show on Friday night (25 October), Ronan, 30, was on the red sofa alongside Hollywood stars Eddie Redmayne, 42, Paul Mescal, 28, and Denzel Washington, 69, to discuss their forthcoming projects.

The four guests were listening to Redmayne talk about his new series, The Day of the Jackal, in which he stars as an elusive assassin.

Redmayne discussed learning self-defence from a specialist combat expert as part of his training for the role, and recalled being taught how to use his mobile phone as a weapon to jab an attacker in the neck.

Gladiator star Mescal then joked that he would not think of pulling out his phone during an attack.

“Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to go ‘phone,’” said the actor, gesturing as if to take a phone out of his pocket.

Ronan then said: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time”, as both Redmayne and Mescal fell silent.

“Am I right ladies?” Ronan said after a brief pause, and was met with a round of applause from the audience.

The rest of the guests on the sofa seemed to mumble in agreement and nodded along as Norton changed the subject.

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Fans have been praising Ronan for her honesty in the moment, and vocalising the everyday measures that women have to take in order to protect themselves from gender-based violence.

“Saoirse Ronan gagging men we love to see it,” said one fan online. “The way she waited to hear about their privilege, then hit them with a reality check.”

Another added: “That awkward silence after she dropped the bomb on them speaks volume.”

“Oh you just know they all felt stupid after that,” said one fan.

Another fan was amused by how “flabbergasted” the other guests were by Ronan’s remark.

“Crazy to see how when the guys spoke they were so full of energy but when she said ‘Am I right ladies’ they just started mumbling lmao she got them FLABBERGASTED,” someone wrote.

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One viewer said on X/Twitter: “Men have the luxury of joking about situations that women would be threatened and horrified in. Our experiences are so different!”

Earlier this year, UK police chiefs warned that violence against women had become a national emergency, as two million women are estimated to be victims of violence perpetrated by men in England and Wales each year.

Crimes including stalking, harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence affect one in 12 women in England and Wales, and the number of recorded offences have grown by 37 per cent in the past five years. The Independent reported in March that more than 350 women have been killed by a man since the murder of Sarah Everard.

Women are often forced to consider methods of protecting themselves in public, whether that is sharing their location with loved ones while walking alone at night or learning self-defence techniques.

STRICTLY star Amy Dowden was rushed to hospital last night after collapsing backstage following the main show.

The Welsh dancer – who has Crohns Disease and has been battling cancer – was attended by paramedics at Elstree Studios and taken away in an ambulance.

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An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.

“An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care.”

The BBC would not confirm if she took part in the results show, but it is understood that Gill was seen taking part in the results show without her.

A statement from Amy’s spokesperson reads: “Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution.

She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern.

“We request Amy’s privacy in matters of health is kindly respected.”

Amy, 34, rejoined the series this year after being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May of last year and couldn’t fully participate in the 2023 show.

She has previously talked at length about the excruciating pain she suffers as a result of her Crohns, an inflammatory disease of the digestive system, and how it has hospitalised her on many occasions.

Together with JB Gill the pair were one of the most successful duos of this year, regularly finishing near the top of the scoreboard, although they were in last week’s dance off and were saved by the judges, sending Paul Merson and Karen Hauer home.

Before her return to Strictly, Amy faced moths of gruelling cancer treatment and was forced to step back from the series last year.

And it’s touching messages from fans that help her to stay on the show, as she revealed:  “I get so many messages about my smile. I do always look back and think, ‘Gosh, this time last year I was having chemo, this time last year I was in hospital with a blood clot’.

“What a difference a year can make.

“I get messages every day from people saying, ‘I’m going through chemo and you’re my hope’, or, ‘Because of you I’ve checked myself and I found a lump’, or some-thing like this. I’m just grateful to be back and be in the position I am.”

After Amy was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2023, just a couple of months later she was told she had another type of cancer, which was found elsewhere in the body.

Following undergoing a mastectomy, she was told the tumours had spread and was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in July of the same year.

And in August 2024, her return to Strictly was thrown into chaos when doctors raised concerns about abnormalities in her breast following a check-up.

Thankfully, Amy received the all-clear from her consultant.

As of September 3, 2024, her cancer is currently in remission.

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BOSSES behind this year’s Strictly Come Dancing have set their eyes on attracting talent like Miranda Hart for next year, and are using their contestants this year to get them on board.

Comedy actress Sarah Hadland is taking part in this year’s series, and proving one to watch, but BBC bosses are keen to entice her best friend Miranda Hart to join a future series.

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The Call the Midwife actress is said to be on BBC bosses hit list with their hopes lying with Sarah to impress her co-star and pal to sign up next year.

An insider told The Mail on Sunday: “Sarah and Miranda used to watch Strictly at home together before Sarah was on it.

“It was their joint dream to be on [the show]. Ultimately, Miranda would love to go on the show.”

They added: “The BBC is desperate to get the big names back on the show.

“If they could tempt Miranda onto it, then it could encourage other big celebrities to do it again.

“Sarah is their hope because she’s so close to Miranda.”

The comments come after Sarah was one of the top scorers on Saturday night’s Strictly Come Dancing for her Argentine Tango with partner Vito Coppola, which saw the professional split his pants whilst performing.

During their routine, Vito dressed in a pair of figure-hugging three-quarter pants, white tights and a waistcoat.

He was seen throwing Sarah around in a series of daring lifts and at the end of the dance, before his pants split.

Vito was seen holding his bottom to conceal the rip when he left the dancefloor and during the judges feedback.

Speaking to Claudia Winkleman in the clauditorium, Vito said: “Everything is together, a bit of overbalance, everything happened right now.

“My wig and you and the dress, and my trousers broke right here.”

The judges scored the pair an impressive 38 for their dance, with Anton du Beke and Motsi Mabuse awarding a 10 points.

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If you’re an eagle-eyed Strictly Come Dancing fan, then you may have noticed that this year’s Halloween Week was without one major tradition.

Every year when the show gets a spooky makeover, the judges’ circular paddles are swapped out for ghost-shaped paddles instead – but this year it didn’t happen.

“Where are the special Halloween ghost paddles, Strictly?” asked one disappointed fan on X/Twitter during Saturday night’s show, as another chimed, “Where are the ghost-shaped scoring paddles?!”

While the mysterious whereabouts of the ghost paddles remain unknown at the time of writing, other elements of the show still felt familiar as the contestants delivered on all of the Halloween Week Strictly classics, including tributes to The Addams Family, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Frankenstein.

The judges also delivered on the costume front. Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke shocked viewers when they arrived onstage looking unrecognisable – and frightening – as the Grady sisters from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

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The pair walked onto the dancefloor hand-in-hand wearing identical brunette wigs, matching blue dresses and black dolly shoes. Fans were left shocked by the judges’ choice of costume, since the pair creepily stayed in character throughout the show’s opening segment.

They kept the joke going as Revel Horwood referred to his fellow judge as his “sister” throughout the show, while Du Beke remarked that he had never looked so good.

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“Craig and Anton as the twins from The Shining have just made my year!” wrote one fan online.

Meanwhile, professional dancer Carlos Gu stole the show when he dressed up as host Claudia Winkleman, sporting the presenter’s signature hairdo and all-black outfit, consisting of a dramatic black blazer and matching lace skirt.

In the ‘Clauditorium’ – the dedicated interview area where Winkleman speaks to the couples after their routines – Gu stood beside the presenter as he imitated her facial expressions and mannerisms.

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Strictly fans agreed online that it was one of the best Halloween costume ideas of the series.

“How do I vote for Carlos and Claudia?” said one viewer on X/Twitter, as another added: “Carlos dressed as Claudia. He has won Halloween 2024”

STRICTLY Come Dancing viewers were left in hysterics after witnessing the ‘perfect moment’ last night.

Saturday evening’s instalment of the BBC competition saw the remaining celebrities and pro dancers dress up for Halloween Week.

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And even the judging panel got into the spooky spirit.

Fans were left laughing out loud when they realised pro dancer Carlos Gu – who is not partnered with anyone this year – had decided to dress up as.

The dancer looked chic in an oversized blazer, lace skirt and black bob wig.

As soon as he stood next to presenter Claudia Winkleman it became clear who his costume was inspired by.

Many rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to praise the star for his creativity.

One wrote on the platform: “Carlos dressed as Claudia. He has won Halloween 2024.”

Another added: “Winner of this week’s strictly for me is Carlos dressed as Claudia!”

A third added: “Carlos absolutely wins #strictly tonight.”

“OMG Carlos is actually looking very much like Claudia!,” a fourth commented.

A fifth said: “Carlos just won Halloween for me! Iconic.”

After the show the pair posed for a snap together and Claudia shared it on her Instagram page.

She wrote: “I love @gkx_carlos ❤️.”

Carlos replied: “Love you to bits ! X.”

Former Strictly winner Stacey Dooley wrote in the comments section: “@sineadmckeefry now ordering 2 of everything 😭💅🏼🤜🏻🤛🏻👏🏻.”

Professional Karen Hauer added: “The best.”

The Halloween costumes for the Strictly Come Dancing judges have been dubbed ‘greatest thing on the show’.

Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke stole the show with their efforts – as they dressed up as the creepy twins from iconic horror film The Shining.

Oti Mabuse dressed up as Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations, and Shirley Ballas was Winifred from Hocus Pocus.

After last night’s show, actress Sarah Hadland and EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick are at the top of the leaderboard.

The two were awarded an incredible 38 points for their performances.

Meanwhile Chris McCausland and Dr Punam Krishan are at the bottom with the lowest scores.

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